The Thaw
by munchkineater
Summary: Once upon a time, Rainpaw had a 'big think'. Rainleaf tries to her utmost ability to carry out this 'big think'. But alas, 'big thinks' only work in perfect clans... and DarkClan is most definitely not perfect. Sixth one-shot challenge from DarkClan, rated T for death. Please R&R&E! (the E stands for Enjoy!)


**If you want any background story on the characters, you might want to read some of my other one-shots, because Dawnbreeze and Rainleaf and Russetclaw pop up in my other fanfics :) Hope you enjoy yourselves!**

"Do I _have_ to?" Splashpaw moaned, glaring distastefully at the marsh in front of her.

"Yes, Splashpaw," her mentor sighed, wading carefully into the mud. "If you don't, RiverClan will be able to smell your scent on their land. You have to remember, what we've been doing this leafbare is against the warrior code."

"But Rainleaf, if it's against the warrior code, why would you be the one to suggest it?" Splashpaw inquired. Rainleaf's eyes misted over as her thoughts turned to that day.

_"We can't! I swear it by StarClan, it is _suicide_ to try and raid them. They're too powerful!" a ginger tom argued, shooting a desperate glance at a battle-scarred golden she-cat._

_"And why is it so suicidal, as you say, to attack RiverClan? Leaf-bare affects them just the same as it affects DarkClan," the golden she-cat calmly countered. The ginger tom's neck fur bristled._

_"That's the point! It doesn't affect RiverClan as drastically as us. Look at Splashkit! She's four moons old, and you can see every single one of her bones. Even the warriors in RiverClan are fat."_

_"Every cat knows RiverClan cats have thicker fur-"_

_"That gets smoothed down from the water they constantly swim through. Their fur doesn't make them look fatter; they are big. We can't afford to attack them!" The golden she-cat rolled her eyes at him, claws unsheathing to gouge the earth._

_"Well what do you suggest we do? There is _no_ more food. Literally_ none_," she countered. The ginger tom opened his mouth, then closed it again._

_"Dawnbreeze?" a young voice sounded from behind the gold she-cat. Dawnbreeze purred, claws immediately sheathing at the placating tone in the small cat's voice._

_"Rainpaw," Dawnbreeze greeted, running her tail along the silver she-cat's side. "What are you doing up so early? We're not on dawn patrol." Rainpaw yawned, then gazed at the red tom with wide blue eyes._

_"I was wondering what you and Russetclaw were arguing about. It sounds really serious. You woke up half the apprentices!" Rainpaw exclaimed. Russetclaw awkwardly shuffled his feet._

_"Sorry for waking you up," Russetclaw apologized, licking his daughter's ears. "Your mentor and I were just debating whether or not it would be wise to attack RiverClan, as strong and impervious as they are." He shot a glance at Dawnbreeze._

_"Well you don't necessarily have to attack them," Rainpaw pointed out. Russetclaw disdainfully glared at Dawnbreeze._

_"I told you it was dumb," he triumphantly said._

_"I didn't say it was stupid to attack them," Rainpaw corrected, earning herself an exasperated glance. "I just said you don't have to attack them. You could mask your scents with water or something and go onto RiverClan territory without being noticed."_

_"That... could actually work," Russetclaw purred. "I see you inherited the brains of your father."_

_"That might work," Dawnbreeze conceded. "If, of course, every single cat was diligent enough to swim through water or roll in mud every time they went hunting. And they all were smart enough to keep a lookout for RiverClan patrols. And nobody went hunting alone so they could always have a lookout."_

_"Dawnbreeze, control yourself!" Russetclaw scolded. "It was just an idea that could work in a perfect clan."_

_"And we are most definitely _not_ a perfect clan," Dawnbreeze countered. "She's an apprentice. Apprentices aren't experienced enough to partake in warrior conversations and produce valid ideas."_

_"Well we'd only have to do it during the leafbare... come greenleaf and-_

"Rainleaf!" Splashpaw exclaimed, jolting her mentor out of her thoughts. "The RiverClan patrol is coming soon, we have to go!"

"They aren't coming for a little while, we could get in a little hunting," Rainleaf reassured the small gray she-cat.

"Are you sure... ?" Splashpaw dubiously inquired. After receiving a nod from Rainleaf, she opened her jaws to scent the air. Her gray neck fur bristled slightly. "Um I really think we should go, Rainleaf."

Rainleaf shot her a questioning glance, then opened her mouth to breathe in the scents.

Splashpaw's eyes grew wide all of a sudden. "Rainleaf du-"

A pressure appeared out of nowhere around Rainleaf's neck. Rainleaf didn't even have time to struggle before a crack rang out in the clearing and everything went black.

_'I guess apprentice ideas really aren't worth doing after all...'_ Rainleaf vaguely thought, drifting through a twilight zone between awake and dreaming.

**If you didn't understand what happened... Rainleaf died. And she realized that her idea was bound to go wrong, because as Dawnbreeze had said, DarkClan is not a perfect clan. I hope you enjoyed it! A review would be appreciated... :) Keep your pens at the ready, fellow writers!  
~Munchie**


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